But, almost two years on as we approach Valentine’s Day 2019, the most eligible man in British sport is struggling for a dance partner for another Wembley date.
April 13 under the Arch should be the unified heavyweight king’s most celebrated night. It should be his shot at ‘undisputed’ glory against WBC champ Deontay Wilder who has the only belt missing from his collection.
But the WBA, WBO and IBF king is somehow struggling to secure an opponent and promoter Eddie Hearn has admitted the whole show only has a 70 per cent chance of going ahead.
Four men have been offered the fight, but Hearn insists Wilder is not even returning his calls so he feels he is down to three viable options.
It is an astonishing situation for the man who re-energised a stagnant division and seemed to have the sport eating out of his giant hands.
It seems his success, in the ring and the wallet, has started to count against him.
The potential opponents have watched his rise from Olympic golden boy to global goldmine. And they are trying to hold him to ransom. Is this a fight he can win?
Deontay Wilder
The WBC champion has stopped answering the phone to Eddie Hearn and is in the most powerful position of all the rivals.
With the green strap around his waist and matchmakers Shelly Finkel and Al Haymon in his corner, Wilder is in the driving seat.
The Bronze Bomber’s sensational December draw with Tyson Fury means a rematch is most likely to be his next bout.
Wilder offered AJ around £37million for a fight in the USA around April 2018 but the Brit refused the offer as he wants to host it in the UK, according to Hearn.
Matchroom boss Hearn has already ruled the 32-year-out of the running as it has been radio silence in negotiations. If he loses a rematch to Fury he will become irrelevant but a win would make him even more powerful.
Verdict: Unlikely for now
Tyson Fury
The lineal heavyweight champion, the man who beat Klitschko originally, has returned to the division with all guns blazing and is wasting no time.
Fury has always insisted he would only fight Joshua for an equal 50-50 split of the mega-money on offer.
But Hearn has since revealed that the Gypsy King wants a set guaranteed figure to fight the Watford man and is not interested in percentages or slices of the pie.
Fury has seen his popularity soar since his comeback and is at the peak of his power.
He has been in text conversation with Hearn but called for the Wilder rematch seconds after the controversial draw and has always seemed a strict man of his word.
His performance against Wilder, apart from the two knockdowns, was almost faultless and he will fancy himself in the rerun.
Small chance but better options
Dillian Whyte
The Body Snatcher is probably the best barometer for how AJ’s stock value has decreased.
When these two old amateur rivals clashed as young pros in 2015, Dillian was known as the villain and was loathed by the O2 crowd.
But, after 30-year-old Whyte’s win over Dereck Chisora in December, it was AJ who was booed when he made his way to the ring and revealed Whyte was only his third pick for April 13, behind Wilder and Fury.
Since then, the Jamaica-born warrior has laughed off a “ridiculous” opening offer from Hearn and received an improved bid of £4m.
The 25-1 fans favourite has also been to America, reportedly to meet with Wilder’s mysterious advisor Al Haymon.
And Wilder has told him making that move would help secure their fight.
He said: “I think that would be a great move for him and it would bring closer than anything to a fight with me.”
The fight-by-fight deal with Hearn does seem secure but Whyte’s nine consecutive wins and mainstream popularity mean he is going to be paid what he is worth, against AJ or not.
Rematch could happen
Jarrell Miller
Big Baby looks like the perfect opponent to spoon-feed AJ for his US debut.
The trash-talking New York has already insulted AJ’s beloved mum at an American press conference to build the hype and he has visited the UK and met with the media to build his profile.
Despite being an unknown in the UK, and a certain step backwards for Joshua, Miller would help AJ break the American market and make him look good in the ring.
Surprisingly however, Miller’s co-promoter Dmitry Salita claimed last week that talks had not even started over a potential fight, with time running out rapidly.
Miller was due to box on January 18 but was pulled off of the card at the last minute, spiking speculation he would be AJ’s next task.
But that bout would be across the pond and most likely sink the April 13 card all together so seems the absolute last resort.
Fight makes sense
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